Drain pan assembly

Abstract

A drain pan assembly for receiving liquids from air conditioners, refrigerators, and freezers comprising a blank having peripheral edges, base forming fold lines, and corner piece forming fold lines, wherein at least two corner piece forming fold lines and a portion of the peripheral edges, form each corner piece. The corner piece further comprises a diagonal corner fold line. Folding each corner piece along each diagonal corner fold line forms corner flaps. Each corner flap is bent about each of the corner piece forming fold lines to dispose the corner piece forming fold lines adjacent to each other and the diagonal corner fold lines adjacent to a surface of each peripheral wall.

1. A drain pan assembly for receiving liquid from air conditioners, refrigerators, and freezers, the drain pan formed from a blank and comprising:
 (a) a planar base, a plurality of peripheral sections, a corresponding plurality of base forming fold lines, and a plurality of corner piece forming fold lines, wherein the plurality of peripheral sections are bent about the corresponding base forming fold lines to define the planar base and to form four peripheral tapered walls having an upper edge and defining an interior surface and an exterior surface of the drain pan assembly, and wherein two of the corner piece forming fold lines and portions of two of the plurality of peripheral sections form a first corner piece; 
 (b) a diagonal corner fold line within the first corner piece intermediate the two corner piece forming fold lines to form a corner flap, wherein the corner flap is folded along the diagonal corner fold line to form an exposed upper edge and to dispose the two of the corner piece forming fold lines substantially in contact with each other, wherein the corner flap is bent about each of the corner piece forming fold lines to contact the corner flap with the exterior surface of the peripheral tapered wall, and a portion of the corner flap between one corner piece forming fold line and the diagonal corner fold line contacting the exterior surface of the peripheral wall, wherein a remaining portion of the corner flap between the remaining corner piece forming fold line and the diagonal corner fold line is parallel to and contacts the portion of the corner flap contacting the exterior surface of the peripheral tapered wall, and the upper edge of each peripheral tapered wall includes a hem fold line; and 
 (c) a hem bent about the hem fold line of each peripheral tapered wall to define a peripheral wall height, each hem contacting the interior surface of a corresponding peripheral tapered wall, wherein the exposed upper edge of the corner flap is at or below the peripheral wall height, and wherein the plurality of peripheral sections, the planar base, the corner flap and the hem are an integral one piece construction. 
 
   
   
     2. The drain pan assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the portions of two of the plurality of peripheral sections forming the first corner piece and the hem have angled edges which together form corner notches in the blank. 
   
   
     3. The drain pan assembly of  claim 1 , wherein one of the peripheral tapered walls further comprises an aperture and a drain plug, the drain plug matingly engaging the aperture. 
   
   
     4. A first drain pan assembly and a second substantially identical drain pan assembly, each drain pan assembly having a base integral with at least four peripheral tapered walls having integral corners and hems, wherein the base is defined by four base forming fold lines and each of the corners is formed by two peripheral tapered walls and a corresponding corner flap having two corner piece forming fold lines and an intermediate diagonal corner fold line, wherein each corner flap is folded along the diagonal corner fold line to dispose the two corner piece forming fold lines in contact with each other and to form an exposed upper edge of the corner flap, and each corner flap is bent about the two corner piece forming fold lines to dispose each corner flap in contact with the exterior surface of an adjacent portion of a corresponding peripheral tapered wall and to contact a portion of the corner flap between one corner piece forming fold line and the diagonal corner fold line with the exterior surface of the corresponding peripheral wall, wherein a remaining portion of the corner flap between the remaining corner piece forming fold line and the diagonal corner fold line is parallel to and contacts the portion of the corner flap contacting the exterior surface of the corresponding peripheral wall, wherein each of the hems is folded along a hem fold line to contact an interior surface of the peripheral tapered walls and to define a peripheral wall height, the exposed upper edge of the corner flap being at or below the peripheral wall height, and wherein a substantial portion of the peripheral tapered walls of the first drain pan assembly is nested within a substantial portion of the peripheral tapered walls of the second drain pan assembly. 
   
   
     5. The first drain pan assembly and the second substantially identical drain pan assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the base of the first drain pan assembly is adjacent to the base of the second drain pan assembly. 
   
   
     6. A method of making a drain pan assembly for air conditioners, refrigerators, and freezers, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) cutting a polygonal shaped blank from malleable metal to include notched corner pieces; 
 (b) folding the blank along base forming fold lines to define a planar base and to form four peripheral tapered walls having an upper edge and to define an interior surface and an exterior surface; 
 (c) folding along corner piece forming fold lines, wherein two of the corner piece forming fold lines and portions of two of the peripheral tapered walls form a first corner piece; 
 (d) folding along an intermediate diagonal corner fold line within the first corner piece forming a corner flap, wherein the corner flap is folded along the diagonal corner fold line to form an exposed upper edge and to dispose the two of the corner piece forming fold lines substantially in contact with each other, wherein the corner flap is bent about each of the corner piece forming fold lines to dispose the corner flap along the exterior surface of the peripheral tapered wall and to contact a portion of the corner flap between one corner piece forming fold line and the diagonal corner fold line with the exterior surface of the peripheral wall, wherein a remaining portion of the corner flap between the remaining corner piece forming fold line and the diagonal corner fold line is parallel to and contacting the portion of the corner flap contacting the exterior surface of the peripheral tapered wall, and wherein the upper edge of each peripheral wall has a hem fold line; and 
 (e) folding a hem about the hem fold line of each peripheral wall to define a peripheral wall height and to contact the hem with the interior surface of the peripheral tapered wall, wherein the exposed upper edge of the corner flap is at or below the peripheral wall height, and wherein the peripheral sections, the corner flap and the hem are integral. 
 
   
   
     7. The method of  claim 6 , further comprising the step of forming an aperture in one of the peripheral tapered walls for the insertion of a drain plug. 
   
   
     8. A drain pan assembly for receiving liquid from air conditioners, refrigerators, and freezers, the drain pan formed from a blank and comprising:
 (a) a planar base; 
 (b) four peripheral walls extending upwardly from the base at an obtuse angle defining an interior surface and an exterior surface, each peripheral wall having a hem integral to the peripheral wall, the hem being bent about a hem fold line to form an upper edge of the peripheral wall defined by the hem fold line, a portion of the hem contacting the interior surface; and 
 (c) four corner flaps, each corner flap defined by two corner piece forming fold lines and an intermediate diagonal corner fold line, wherein the corner flaps are folded along the diagonal corner fold line to form an exposed upper edge and to dispose the two corner piece forming fold lines substantially in contact with each other, wherein the corner flap is bent about each of the corner piece forming fold lines to dispose the corner flap along the exterior surface of the peripheral tapered wall and to contact a portion of the corner flap between one corner piece forming fold line and the diagonal corner fold line with the exterior surface of the peripheral wall, wherein a remaining portion of the corner flap between the remaining corner piece forming fold line and the diagonal corner fold line is parallel to and contacts the portion of the corner flap contacting the exterior surface of the peripheral tapered wall, and wherein the exposed upper edge of the corner flap is at or below the upper edge of the peripheral wall. 
 
   
   
     9. The drain pan assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the at least four peripheral tapered walls each comprises a hem, each of the hems folded along a hem fold line, wherein each of the hems comprises at least two layers of material and contacts an interior surface of the peripheral tapered walls. 
   
   
     10. The drain pan assembly of  claim 9 , wherein each hem further comprises an angled edge at each terminal end. 
   
   
     11. The drain pan assembly of  claim 8 , wherein each corner flap comprises an angled edge and three fold lines, the three fold lines are progressively folded to form each corner. 
   
   
     12. The drain pan assembly of  claim 8 , wherein at least one of the peripheral tapered walls comprises an aperture and a drain plug, the drain plug matingly engaging the aperture.